Milled Golf Club Face Texture for Spin and Bulge-Roll Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional metal wood golf club heads face challenges in achieving tight bulge/roll tolerances and reducing spin imparted on golf balls, leading to variability in performance across club heads of the same design, particularly in low-lofted clubs, which affects carry distance and flight path.
Innovation Solution
The golf club head features a milled ball striking surface with customized surface textures characterized by specific surface parameters, such as the ratio of average roughness (RA) to surface void parameter (WVoid) and surface contact parameter (WVDCL), which are optimized to reduce spin and enhance contact friction, allowing for precise control over bulge and roll curvatures through advanced milling patterns and CNC machining.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional coining and machining processes are used to form the strike plate, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the bulge and roll tolerances are loose and variability is high
Solution Approach 1:
The strike plate is pre-formed with approximate bulge and roll curvatures through coining and machining before welding to the frame. This preliminary shaping allows the final precision milling to focus only on achieving tight tolerances rather than creating the entire curvature from scratch, reducing overall process complexity while maintaining high precision
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional mechanical coining and grinding processes are replaced with CNC milling for the final precision work. The CNC milling process provides superior control over bulge and roll curvatures, achieving tight tolerances that are difficult to obtain through conventional mechanical processes alone
2Manufacturing precision
If a uniform brushed surface finish is applied, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the spin control on golf balls is insufficient and variability remains high
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying a uniform surface finish across the entire strike plate, the invention uses localized milling patterns that create specific surface textures in different areas. This allows different regions of the face to have optimized spin characteristics, with the ability to create low-spin zones in the center and higher-spin zones at the periphery, providing precise spin control while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through automated CNC milling
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional welding and grinding processes are used, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the final product has larger tolerances and higher variability
Solution Approach 1:
The strike plate is pre-formed with approximate curvatures and the weld bead is pre-positioned through controlled welding. The CNC milling process then removes material to achieve final precision dimensions, including removing and re-profiling the weld bead area. This preliminary preparation allows the final milling to focus on precision rather than gross material removal, balancing productivity with high precision
Solution Approach 2:
Traditional sequential processes of welding followed by manual grinding are replaced with CNC milling that can precisely control the weld bead removal and final surface profiling in one automated operation. This substitution eliminates variability introduced by manual grinding while maintaining productivity through automated material removal
Data Source
AI summary
A wood-style golf club head includes a strike face and a body that cooperate to define a hollow internal club head volume. The strike face formed from a strike plate having an outer perimeter and a frame surrounding the strike plate. The strike plate is affixed to the frame across the entire outer perimeter. The strike plate and frame define a continuous ball striking surface that has a surface texture characteristic of milling that extends continuously across both the strike plate and the frame.